Halo: Reach: Noble Edition
by Sanokal
Summary: For decades, humanity has fled from the relentless Covenant threat, but now the largest Covenant fleet ever witnessed looms in the darkened skies over Reach, heart of the UNSC's military power. Noble Team must stand and face a full scale planetary invasion with humanity's fate hanging desperately in the balance. A Halo: Reach novelization.
1. Noble Actual

**Halo: Reach: Noble Edition**

**Finally, after playing through this and 4 on both Heroic and Legendary, after being asked to do so by some of my readers from Halo: The Installation, I'm ready to get started on another Halo novelization: Halo: Reach. **

**Let's be honest, Halo has always been a fantastic game, whatever the game. I probably enjoyed this campaign the most out of all of them, and 4's multiplayer the most out of them, and then we have the Master Chief collection, which is perfect from my point of view since I rarely play matchmaking. Halo: Reach was the last Halo made by Bungie, and they sent themselves out with a bang. **

**As always, feel free to give me advice, point out mistakes – especially when it comes to military tactics and procedure – and enjoy the fic. **

**One final note: I haven't personalized Noble Six in this. I find it easy to find fault in a Noble Six, and while I'll give him some personality through inner monologue, I'll stick to the backstory and publicized info that Bungie posted.**

**Is there anything else? **

**No?**

**Good. Let's begin. **

The planet was on fire.

It wasn't screaming, it was too late for that. The glowing wounds the enemy had rent in it had snuffed out its life and scarred it all over.

Such extensive wounds were rare; channels of fire and molten rock covered the continents, and anything on the surface would have been lucky to survive. Anything underground might have been luckier, but chances wouldn't have been good.

A massive mountain had been blasted in two by the enemy's glassing, not by the wrecked frigate that lay nearby. The glassing had scorched the plain below of all life, all evidence it had existed, save a single helmet with a hole in the visor.

** H**

Deep in thought as he bounced along in the passenger seat of a Warthog, SPARTAN-B312 stared into the bronze visor of the Mk V[B] helmet, and then he turned it around and looked into the depths of the helmet, before rising it to his face and pulling it on.

Like the rest of his MJOLNIR Mk V armour, the helmet was a flat grey, perfectly suited for basic camouflage in urban warfare. Lord knows B312 had seen enough of it.

He realized that he wasn't referring to himself by his name anymore, but he shrugged it off. That didn't matter at the moment, only the mission did. Besides, he might end up with a new call sign soon.

Looking up, out of the Warthog's windshield, SPARTAN-B312 beheld the surface of Reach, and the UNSC outpost that was up ahead. Nothing fancy; it could easily be moved within half a day or less if the need arose.

He looked up over his head and he spotted two UH-144 Falcons flying in above the Warthog, heading for the same camp that he was. Text scrolled across the lower right corner of his HUD: July 24, 2552, 07:28 Hours.

Both Falcons landed in the camp, and the Warthog pulled to a stop next to one of them. B312 stood up, bracing on the side of the Warthog, and he hopped out of the LRV, walking towards a small, transportable building.

His enhanced hearing picked up the radio transmission that was coming in from the building, and he listened carefully, but made sure to keep walking and pay attention to his surroundings.

_"Contact with Visegrád Relay was lost last night,"_ a gruff voice explained over the radio._ "All signals flatlined at twenty-six hundred hours."_

As B312 walked, he could see a bald, olive-armoured Spartan sitting by the passenger cabin of one of the Falcons, sliding sniper rounds one by one into a magazine.

_Jun-A266,_ B312 thought. _Noble 3. Sniper. Obviously. Chatty. Rock solid under pressure, and suffered from PTSD, but he never relapsed after therapy. _

He'd read up on the files of Noble Team before coming to Reach, assigned to the six-Spartan-strong after one of the six had been KIA. It was a radical change from his previous history, where he'd worked alone as a private assassin, mainly targeting militia groups.

He picked up another shred of the radio conversation coming from the building. _"I responded with trooper fire teams, which have since been declared MIA."_

"And now you're sending us," a deep voice said from inside the trailer.

_"The Office of Naval Intelligence believes deployment of a Spartan team is a gross misallocation of valuable resources,"_ the voice said, and B312 realized that it must be Noble Actual, Colonel Holland._ "I disagree,"_ he said in a tone that made it quite clear where he thought ONI could stick their beliefs.

B312 reached the door, and he stared at a grey-armoured Spartan in EVA armour, who was sharpening a dangerous-looking kukri against his shoulder pauldron, and had obviously used it to carve a skull into his visor.

_Emile-A239_, B312 thought to himself. _Noble 4. Brutal fighter. Close-combat specialist, but not as sociable with anyone that isn't on the team. _

He saw Emile staring at him, so B312 stopped his assessment and he attempted to enter, but he was cut off by a thin mechanical arm, its owner walking out from behind the door; a woman in turquoise armour with a brown crew cut. "Commander," she called.

_Catherine-B320_, B312 thought. _Noble 2. A Beta Company pullout, like me. Tech specialist, lacks situational awareness, which explains why she's only got the one arm._

He saw the other two members of Noble Team turn to look at him; a blue-armoured tanned fellow, and a truly impressively massive Spartan in olive and yellow armour. Not a Spartan-III like the rest of them, this guy was a Spartan-II, and a big one at that.

"So that's our new number six," the Spartan-II said in a deep gravelly Reach accent.

_That's right,_ B312 thought. _Jorge-052 is a Reach native. Noble 5, heavy weapons specialist. Rock solid, but very vocal. _ He stepped forward, looking at the commander. Carter-A259 stood in front of a holographic computer screen that confirmed B312's suspicions that they were currently in contact with Colonel Holland.

"Kat, you read his file?" Emile asked from behind him.

Carrying her helmet under her arm, Kat replied, "Only the parts that weren't covered in black ink."

Carter didn't pay the comments any heed, or B312 any comments, and he turned back to the computer screen. "Anyone claim responsibility, sir?" he asked Holland.

_"ONI thinks it might be the local insurrection,"_ Holland replied._ "Five months ago, they pulled a similar job on Harmony. Hit a relay to take out our eyes and ears, then stole two freighters from dry-dock,"_ he explained._ "That cannot happen here. Reach is too damn important. I want that relay back online, Noble One."_

Carter nodded. "Sir. Consider it done," he said.

_"Then I'll see you on the other side," _Holland replied before signing off._ "Holland out." _

Jorge and Emile stood up, and they both started walking out, Emile waiting behind for Jorge. Carter grabbed his helmet from the table and turned to face B312. "Lieutenant," he said.

"Commander. Sir," B312 replied as Jorge and Emile started moving out. Kat joined them by the door.

"I'm Carter, Noble Team's leader," Carter said before pointing at Kat. He knew that they'd likely been read up on, but it never hurt to give introductions, so he gestured at Kat. "That's Kat, Noble Two, Emile and Jorge, Four and Five. You're riding with me, Noble Six."

_Noble Six_, B312 thought. _Guess that's me from now on. _

The newly-signed Noble Six walked out of the building next to Carter, who was donning his own helmet, while Kat, Emile, who was sheathing his kukri, and Jorge had already put theirs on, and they were walking side by side in front of them, towards the Falcons.

"I'm not gonna lie to you, Lieutenant," Carter warned Noble Six. "You're stepping into some shoes the rest of the squad would rather leave unfilled."

The Spartans quickly reached the Falcons, and the other three moved to the other one, and Noble Six and Carter got into the one where Jun was already waiting.

"Me, I'm just happy to have Noble back up to full strength," Carter said as he boarded the Falcon. "Just one thing," he added, sitting down opposite Jun. "I've seen your file. Even the parts the ONI censors didn't want me to. I'm glad to have your skill set, but we're a team. That lone wolf stuff stays behind. Clear?"

As Noble Six sat down beside Jun, Carter signaled for the other Falcon to get airborne.

"Got it, sir," Six replied.

With that icebreaker out of the way, the olive-armoured sniper was a lot friendlier. "Welcome to Reach," he said.

The Falcons took off and started moving towards the mountain range in the distance.

**I have a confession to make – I'd written most of this chapter earlier, but the damn files got corrupted and I lost both this and the next chapter – which was also mostly done. So that rankled me a fair bit. **

**Also, I'll admit that this ripped off another novelization – well, if you could call only a single chapter another novelization, which unfortunately, looks to be a deadfic, and it's a damn shame too, since it was easily the best one out there. **

**Also, one final ground rule, please don't mention The Fall of Reach. I get tired hearing people complain about it. I'm dead serious, too. **

**Sanokal**


	2. Winter Contingency

**Halo: Reach: Noble Edition**

**Like the last chapter, this one was effectively written twice. That being said, it's much better when I write from start to finish. **

**Unlike Halo: The Installation, I don't think I'll be splitting up the chapters – except maybe New Alexandria. **

**And now with this chapter written, I'll be able to play through Sword Base.**

The two Falcons, callsigns Charlie 1 and Charlie 2, flew over Reach's craggy mountains. Noble Six hadn't had much experience with this area of Reach, so he took the time to enjoy the view while it lasted.

Carter was filling the team in, so Noble Six sat up and listened.

"Listen up, Noble Team," Carter called across to the other Falcon (well, not really, since he was speaking over the radio, but it gave off the impression). "We're looking at a downed relay outpost, fifty clicks from Visegrád. We're going to introduce ourselves to whoever took it out, then Kat's going to get it back online."

_"Just get me under the hood, Commander,"_ Kat replied, datapad already in hand.

_"Sir, why would rebels want to cut off Reach from the rest of the colonies?"_ Jorge asked

Carter didn't know, so he just diplomatically replied, "You get a chance; maybe you can ask them, Jorge."

With the briefing over for now, Six sat back in his seat and looked up to his left side, where he could see the wind-spools of the outpost. They'd be coming in close soon, so he began going over his inventory. All six members of Noble Team carried extra ammunition for their weapons: Six himself had over six-hundred rounds of 7.62mm ammunition for his MA37 assault rifle and roughly twelve clips for his M6G magnum. It wasn't quite as powerful as the M6D that the Navy techs used, but it could do the job reasonably well.

_"Commander, we just lost our signal with HQ,"_ he heard Kat say. Six quickly sat up, alert for any danger. They hadn't even arrived yet and things were already going wrong.

"Backup channels?" Carter asked.

Kat scanned the datapad in front of her. _"Searching...nada. Can't say what's jamming us,"_ she said with a wave of her hand.

The two Falcons were approaching the outpost now, so it stood to reason that that was where the jammer was, Six thought to himself.

"You heard her. Dead zone confirmed," Carter informed the rest of the team. "Command will not be keeping us company this trip."

_"I'm lonely already,"_ Emile commented sarcastically.

Six was quite uneasy. The other Spartans didn't seem at all concerned that they had no support, no backup. Then he realized that he was still thinking like a lone operative; the rest of Noble Team wouldn't be worrying with two Falcons and four – five – Spartans having their backs.

The Falcons banked left and they hovered over the outpost.

Carter contacted the pilots. "Shoot down attempts are likely, so keep your distance," he suggested.

_"Yes, sir!"_ the pilot replied.

"Let's stay focused. Watch your sectors," Carter said to both the pilots and the rest of Noble Team.

The two Falcons headed in opposite directions as the Comm Relay Hub came into view south over the cliffs.

_"There's the communications outpost,"_ Jorge mused.

_"Reading a distress beacon,"_ Kat called, tapping into her datapad.

Receiving the signal that the datapad had sent, Six's HUD placed a waypoint that read "Distress Beacon - Investigate".

"Could be the missing troopers. Let's check it out," Carter said, before contacting the pilots, who were already swinging the Falcons around. "Put us down on the bluff," he ordered.

The Falcons circled for a landing, and Six kept his eyes on his sector for any flak or aircraft.

Carter had turned to the sniper sitting next to Six. "Jun, I want your eyes in the sky," he said.

"Sir," Jun replied.

The Falcons landed side by side, and Carter jumped down. "Let's go, Six," he called, unlimbering his designated marksman rifle, or DMR.

Careful not to hit his head, Noble Six unslung his assault weapon and he exited the Falcon. Rain splashed over his helmet and dripped off his weapons. Strangely, Six didn't feel bothered by the weather, but right at home.

Emile and Kat jumped out of the other one, Emile armed with a powerful shotgun, Kat with a pistol of the same make as Six's. Like Jun, Jorge remained in his Falcon to provide air support.

"Alright, Noble Team," Carter called. "Spread out. Watch the approach."

Emile and Six, being those with the close combat armaments, took point, heading down the hillside. Six followed Emile until halfway down the hill, where Emile nimbly climbed a rock and looked down to the outpost from its peak.

"Structure point 3-4, looks clear from this angle," the close combat specialist called.

With that, Emile leapt down from the rock, and he landed hard, his shields draining from the impact. Six followed, jumping down to his right, landing without as much of an impact. His eyes caught a flash of movement, and he swerved to his right, but he couldn't see anything.

Still, he stayed wary as he and Emile circled a building, while Carter and Kat took another route around the cliff.

"Distress beacon's coming from just south of here, Commander," Kat informed him. "We're close."

"Roger that. Eyes peeled," Carter replied.

The team soon found a burning vehicle next to a small building. Emile shoved aside soon wooden frames and began inspecting an orange palette on the ground. "Found the beacon," he called, tossing it to Kat.

"Make out any ID?" Carter asked.

"Negative, but it's military," Kat said, before she dropped the beacon on the ground and raised her pistol.

_"So where are the troopers?"_ Jorge asked.

Kat had noticed something else too, as she looked at the concrete in front of them. Six and Emile had been examining earlier; it was splattered with blood. "Why are we not seeing explosives residue?" she asked uneasily.

"Noble Three, can you confirm any 'ex residue in the area?" Carter asked.

Up in his Falcon, Jun quickly checked his scopes. _"Hmm... Negative, sir," _he replied.

It was Emile who voiced what all of them were trying not to think: "Plasma, maybe."

_"Can't be. Not on Reach,"_ Jorge protested.

"There's a _lot_ of blood on the ground," Emile pointed out, sweeping his shotgun over it.

Carter made up his mind. "All right, Noble, looks like there's nothing here. Let's move on."

"Wait, sir," Noble Six called, pointing at the pools of blood. "There's some footprints in the blood."

Carter walked over, leaving Kat and Emile to cover them, and he knelt down and examined the footprints. They were avian, not human, with clawed feet, and what appeared to be boot prints from someone who'd legs were bound. "Could be the local wildlife," he suggested. He stood up thoughtfully. "Keep it in mind, but we've got an objective, and we stick to it. Let's get to the rest of the structures."

"Smoke at the next structure, boss," Kat called, scanning the horizon.

Carter stood up and he nodded. "Circle west and check it out. Noble Team: you have permission to engage, but be selective. We don't need to telegraph a presence."

The Spartans headed down the cliff path, weapons at the ready. All of a sudden, Emile swung his rifle into the bushes as they rustled. He was a firm believer in shoot first and ask questions later, but he wasn't going to shoot a scared civilian. He might pop a rebel in the chest, but not a civilian.

Then that something burst out of the bushes; a grey-feathered flightless bird, and it was followed by another. They ran past the Spartans in a panic, and Emile clicked his tongue in disgust and lowered his shotgun. "Looks like you were right, Commander," he commented as he headed for the next building. "Local moa."

The group reached the walkways that were typically built into the side of the cliffs and with Noble Six leading them; they headed towards the door of the next house.

"Noble Six, move into the house," Carter ordered. "Go in quiet. I'm right behind you."

Nodding, assault rifle at the ready, Six moved through the house, putting his stealth skills to good use. He covered the corners, nodded, and moved towards a small flight of stairs.

As Six and Emile explored the house, Jun's voice suddenly came over the comms with urgency. _"Noble Leader, I'm seeing heat-sigs in the structure ahead!"_

The second Falcon landed in the courtyard long enough to drop Jorge off, and the Spartan-II hefted a large Vulcan turret. Six shook his head: he could carry such a weapon, but it was heavy and unwieldy for him. Jorge, on the other hand, handled the turret with ease.

As soon as he'd disembarked, the Falcon rose into the air and then took off to rejoin the other.

A flash of movement caught Six's eye, and he swerved around, bringing up his assault rifle as a door opened, and a civilian male stepped out. He could see other civilians that were remaining inside.

"Én nem csináltam semmit!" the man protested.

Emile aimed his shotgun at the man. "Move! On your knees, now!" he yelled.

"Ne lőjön! Ne lőjön!" the man gasped.

"They're not rebels, they're farmers," Jorge snapped at Emile. "Look at them."

Carter and Kat had arrived, and as Kat covered their rear, Carter ordered, "Ask him what they're doing here."

"Mit kerestek itt?" Jorge asked.

Six caught the farmer's reply of, "Csak nem akartunk meghalni," but Jorge's deep voice blocked out the rest as he translated.

"Hiding, sir," Jorge explained. "Neighbours were attacked last night. He heard screams, gunfire. It stopped around sunrise."

"Valami megölte a fiamat," the farmer said.

Six could almost see Jorge's frown beneath his Mk-IV helmet. "He says something in the fields...killed his son."

Carter and Six had both noticed the term. "Something?" Carter asked in surprise.

_"Commander, be advised. I'm reading heat signatures at the structure directly east from your position. Over,"_ Jun called over the COM.

"Copy that," Carter replied. He nodded to Jorge. "Get them back inside."

Jorge nodded back, before yelling, "Azt mondtam, befelé!"

A new waypoint appeared on Six's HUD, highlighting the building in question. The farmer had gotten Jorge's message, and he backed inside the house as Noble Team sprinted east towards the building.

Carter, Six, and Kat took point, and they sprinted up the rise, past a large pool of dirty water, and arrived at the door.

Carter stepped inside and cursed. "Damn..." he muttered as he saw several human corpses, including two uniformed ones pinned to the wall. He walked forward slowly and sadly as Six and Kat entered. Kat clenched her fists as she saw the body that was pinned to the wall.

_"Fill me in, Commander, what are you seeing? Over,"_ Jun asked.

Carter knelt down over the pools of blood and examined them. He could see the same avian-like and boot-like footprints in the blood. "We've got military casualties, two of the missing troopers," he explained. "Looks like they were interrogated...It's messy."

"Same footprints," Six observed.

"Moa must be really panicked," Emile commented sarcastically as he entered the room with Jorge bringing up the rear.

Carter shook his head over the loss of life as he stood back up and signalled the team to keep moving.

They entered an adjacent room, where Kat found another dead body, a civilian. As she bent down and turned the corpse over, there was a clang of movement on the roof, and a red dot – a hostile contact – briefly appeared on the motion tracker in the lower left of everyone's HUDs.

"Movement. Watch your motion trackers," Carter ordered, leading Six outside. But by the time they'd gotten out, the contact had disappeared.

"What the hell was that?" Emile asked from inside the building, pointing his shotgun at the roof in discomfort.

"Jun, you see anything?" Carter asked the sniper.

Jun hummed to himself for a movement as he ran over his scopes. _"Negative. Thermal's clean,"_ he said at last.

There was nothing else to do but regroup, then head into the next building and search for more survivors, but as Six entered the building with Emile, he wasn't hopeful after the last building. This one seemed as likely to contain bodies as the others.

As he spotted another dead trooper and he covered the corners with Carter, Jun radioed in again. _"Boss, I see movement, outside your structure!"_ he yelled urgently.

"Noble Two, move up to the west," Carter ordered Kat. "We're about to be flanked."

The rest of Noble Team moved to a set of windows, and then Six saw the contact: a red-feathered avian creature clutching a blue rifle in its claws. Before he could shout a warning, the creature saw Noble Team and began squawking in alarm.

"Huh?" Jorge asked, turning to the window.

"Damn it!" Emile yelled, readying his shotgun.

"Covenant!" Jorge bellowed over the radio.

_Dammit!,_ Six thought as he ripped out his sidearm and fired thrice through the open window. The AM rated slugs punched into the alien's brain and dropped it in a heap on the roof.

The Covenant was on Reach. It was the worst possible situation that Six could imagine, the murderous alliance of aliens that humanity had encountered twenty-five years previously were at the heart of the UNSC's military power.

The only comfort he took from the situation was that there were only Grunts – squat, simian-like invertebrates in methane suits, and Skirmishers – the alien he'd just shot – outside. No heavy-duty Elites or Hunters.

Carter was bellowing orders. "Contact, contact! Spartans, assist!" he barked.

"Here we go," Jorge said in barely disguised rage.

Some of the Skirmishers bolted towards the building, running into the basement level of the building, trying to get away from the Falcons up above.

"They're heading into the basement. Move down to the lower levels!" Carter ordered.

Six swiped a fragmentation grenade from a dead soldier and sprinted down to the basement, still carrying his sidearm. As soon as the Skirmishers saw him, they opened up with their plasma pistols, firing green bolts of energy at him.

Ignoring the bolts and allowing his MJOLNIR Mk-V's energy shields to take the brunt of the blows, Six threw the grenade. The Skirmishers agily dodged away from it, but the shrapnel killed one of them and it as it collapsed on the ground and died slowly, the voice of one of the pilots crackled over the COM, _"Banshees! Heads up, Charlie One!"_ Nearby, Banshees began to move in. The Covenant aircraft whined as they glided through the air towards the Falcons.

"Six!" Carter yelled from the top level. "Back up!"

Noble Six obeyed, and he realised that he was still fighting like he was alone. He'd charged into the basement without the backup that he had available. He stepped away from the stairs to let Kat and Carter join him.

The Spartans moved to the door and they opened fire. Six could already see Grunt bodies lying in the mud – the Falcons had done some damage before the Banshees had arrived.

"Contact!" Kat yelled.

"Heavy fire on my position!" Carter roared as he fired at a flanking Skirmisher on the roof of a shed.

Kat fired three times, and a Grunt fell from a single shot, while a Skirmisher Major backed up as it reeled from the impacts. Six finished the alien of with a shot of his own. He saw two Grunts fall from DMR fire as the Spartans moved out into the weather again, Six and Kat taking point and Kat allowing her energy shields to bear the brunt of the assault. Six turned and took out another Skirmisher that was on the roof of one of the curved sheds, trying to flank them.

Then, Noble Team advanced, killing three Grunts in a matter of seconds with pistol fire. A lilac-armoured Grunt Ultra put up more of a fight, but it was still easily dealt with after Kat emptied her pistol's clip into the alien's face to get rid of its breath mask and breach its skull. A single red-armoured Grunt Major had escaped the carnage, until a far-off shotgun blast slowed it enough for the Spartans to hit it with several long-range rounds, splattering blue blood on the ground as the Grunt fell.

Up above, one of the pilots was making good use of the Falcon's chingun and Jun on one of the Falcon's side mounted turrets to destroy one of the Banshees. The aircraft exploded, and Noble Team made sure to keep away from the falling pieces of metal.

But the Covenant weren't done yet, and Six could see a U-shaped Spirit dropship inbound as Jorge opened fire on a pair of Grunts outside the farmyard. They were helpless to do more that let the heavy bullets pulp them into oblivion, but one was able to escape, running towards the covered bridge that led to where the Spirit was headed. The second Banshee was pursued and destroyed over the riverbank of the opposing side.

Up in the Falcon, Jun had spotted the Spirit too, and he radioed in to Carter, _"Noble Leader, enemy dropships inbound!"_

_"Falcon moving to assist,"_ his pilot added.

The Spirit hovered over the opposite riverbank, and the bay doors on each of its prongs opened, letting out more Grunts and Skirmishers.

Carter fired twice, killing the straggling Grunt, and Kat, Emile and Six lead the way down the bridge, Six already firing. Two shots hit a Grunt in the head, knocking off its mask

The Falcons moved in, unloading copious amounts of chingun fire. The Spirit had abandoned the doomed Covenant as soon as it had dropped them off, but the rocks provided the Covenant soldiers with some cover from the aircraft.

Jorge fired steadily as he marched up the cliff. Kat was steadily firing, flanking right as Six flanked left. One of the Grunts threw a glowing blue sphere – an ignited plasma grenade – at Kat, but its aim was off and Kat avoided the resulting explosion, then put both the Grunt and a Skirmisher Minor down with well-placed handgun rounds.

Six opened up on the left flank, killing two Grunts and a Skirmisher quickly even as their fire began to drain his shields. He saw the other Skirmishers fall to Carter's fire.

"Taking enemy fire!" he heard Jorge yell.

There was a massive bang as Emile got close enough to punch one of the Grunts across the face, pulping its head, and then he fired a shotgun blast that blasted a Grunt toward Six. A single AM-rated slug punched into its brain and finished the Grunt off.

Kat put four bullets into a retreating Grunt Minor, dropping it between some rocks. "All clear, sir!" she called to Carter.

"Stand down, Noble, stand down," Carter ordered. "Contacts neutralized."

"Contacts?" Jorge snapped furiously. "It's the damn Covenant!"

"Cheer up, big man: this whole valley just turned into a free-fire zone," Emile commented wryly as he slid more shells into his shotgun.

"Kat, we've got to warn Holland," Carter said to the tech expert. "I need you at that relay outpost _now_."

_"Boss, I'm showing more activity to the east!"_ Jun called over the COM.

"Copy that, Jun, we're on it," Carter replied. "Six, you've got point."

Six nodded, and he reloaded, and then he headed up to join Emile as he headed across the creek. They saw what Jun was talking about; four Grunts, who were led by another Grunt Ultra and a green armoured Grunt Heavy.

Six fired twice, killing the Grunt Heavy, and the two orange-armoured Grunt Minors both squealed and fled alongside their leader, who was brought down by Jorge's turret fire and Kat's pistol rounds. "You're in for a world o' hurt," Jorge commented as three moa ran from the carnage.

"Keep pouring it on," Kat told him.

"Elites!" Emile snarled as five saurian aliens raced forwards out of the rocks. The Elites were the main fighters of the Covenant, equal to Spartans in combat. They were powerful saurians that also used energy shields in combat, and _these_ ones were particularly bad news: three white-armoured Elite Ultras, and two blue-armoured Elite Minors. All of them carried plasma repeaters.

Both Grunts quickly went down under fire, and Six headed around to the right, trying to get a bead on one of the Ultras, holstering his pistol and unslinging his assault rifle.

"Grenade!" he heard Jorge yell, and there was a flash of blue light and an explosion, but the grenade had missed them again.

The aliens had spotted them, and if that wasn't enough, two more Elites, orange-armoured Majors, rushed out from behind the rocks and they opened fire with their plasma rifles.

Six opened fire, but he'd just attracted the attention off all three Ultras, and he was isolated. He backed away into cover as their fire dropped his shields and scorched his armour. His HUD glowed red and an alarm sounded.

Carter moved in to assist him, firing steadily. The Elites were distracted by the fire, giving Six the chance to fire a sustained burst at one of the Ultras, depleting its shields. Rather than reload, he snapped out his pistol and fired, killing the Ultra with a single headshot.

Off to the side, he could see the teamwork of Noble Team being put to good use. Even as Carter and Jorge joined Six, firing at the Ultras and keeping them occupied, he could see one of the inexperienced Minors running at Kat, unaware that Emile was lying in wait. The Elite soon found itself overwhelmed, and met its end, courtesy of a shotgun blast as it tried to club Kat with its plasma repeater.

Six backed away from a thrown plasma grenade, and Jorge put himself in between Six and the Ultras. Under fire, the Ultras fled, the sustained fire bringing down one Ultra's shields. It managed to get to cover, and quickly it knelt down, a white energy shield erupting over it and deflecting any fire. The second Minor ran towards Six, firing but another shotgun blast from Emile, concealed behind a hayroll, took its shields down enough for Six to burn through a clip in his assault rifle and kill the Elite.

He could see the Ultra's shields recharging as both aliens clustered around a large rock. "Weapons free!" Emile was yelling. Jorge and Six poured fire on the Ultra, breaking its shields again, and Six finished it off with a pistol round. He saw a plasma grenade fall beside Kat, _too near_, but Kat punched the ground, the same energy shield that the Ultra had used erupting over her and protecting her. As soon as the explosion faded, she disengaged the armour lock and advanced towards the final Elite. All of Noble Team were firing at it, and Emile got close enough to blast it once, and the alien fell back, scrambling behind a tree stump. Relentlessly, Emile pursued it and hit it with a final blast that blew it into a rock face.

_"Commander, I'm seeing more hostile activity to the north-east,"_ Jun radioed as Noble Team reloaded their weapons.

"Emile, you're with Kat," Carter ordered. "Six and I will run interference on the ground. We'll meet you at the outpost."

"Noble Three, requesting air-lift, over," Kat called to Jun. Emile joined her, slotting shells into his shotgun as the Falcon descended.

Noble Six, Carter, and Jorge headed down a slight ledge to a Spade flatbed truck, with Carter taking the passenger seat (or rather, standing in it) as he had the better weaponry, while Noble Six hoisted himself into the Spade's driver's seat and hit the starter. Jorge hoisted his turret into the Spade's flatbed, effectively turning the Spade into an improvised Warthog.

"Get to work, Noble," Carter told Six.

_Rebels don't leave plasma burns,_ Six thought as he started the Spade up. _We should have known it sooner. Guess none of us wanted to think that the Covenant was on Reach._

As they sped down the hill, a flock of moa ran towards them, dodging the Spade in a panic. A few seconds later, they saw the reason for their panic: a pair of Skirmishers.

"Here they come!" Jorge yelled as he opened fire.

Despite their agility, Six was able to flatten one of them with the Spade, and Jorge managed to hit the other with enough bullets before it got out of range of his limited field of fire.

They rounded a bend and dove over a bridge, seeing two more Skirmishers. One of them leapt off its perch and tried to flank them, and Six swerved around, giving his passengers a better angle to kill the Skirmisher. This gave the other a chance to get away, and it fled for a small farmhouse.

_"__Noble Leader, I'm seeing heat sigs in the structure ahead,"_ Jun informed them as they pursed the Skirmisher.

They could see them now, Grunts mainly, but they were led by an orange-armoured Elite Major. The Covenant opened fire, and Six worked the Spade forwards and backwards to give Carter and Jorge a decent firing angle. Carter killed a Grunt with a single shot, and Jorge splattered three more with his turret fire. The Skirmisher, a red-feathered Major clutching a needle rifle, crept out of hiding and fired at Carter and Six.

Carter immediately prioritised killing it; three needles from its rifle in an unshielded target and they were history. But he was unable to as a Grunt threw a plasma grenade at them, and Six was forced to reverse away from it as it detonated. They drove forwards again, and this time, Carter kept a bead on the Skirmisher and killed it with three well-placed shots. Noble Six backed away from the fire again as another Grunt tried to throw a plasma grenade. This time, Carter shot it in the head, and it dropped the grenade on its body and was vaporized.

Now there were only two Grunts and the Elite left, and Carter quickly took down one. The other aliens retreated inside the house, and Six drove into the open ended garage. The Grunt crept out and Jorge killed it with a sustained Vulcan burst. He dropped the ammo box, and slotted another one into the turret.

Backing the Spade up, Six got out and signalled to Carter to flank. Scooping up a plasma grenade, Six crept to the door and threw it at the Elite. The Elite dodged and ran at Six, and bullets from Carter's DMR slammed into its head. Six emptied the clip of his assault rifle into the Elite, draining its shields and dropping it in a dead heap.

"Looks like we're clear, Lieutenant," Carter called. They covered the house, checking for Covenant stragglers or unlikely human survivors and found four bodies, including an Army Trooper. Carter sighed, and he waved the Spartans outside. "Let's move on, flush out more Covenant," he ordered.

"Boss, I'm showing more activity to the east,"Jun called. _"Advise you check it out."_

"Roger, Three, we're en route," Carter replied as they turned a corner and ran into two more Skirmishers, both armed with needle weapons. Jorge roared as he opened fire on them.

"Don't let up!" Carter yelled as one of the Skirmishers fell in a hail of bullets. "Nice shooting," he congratulated Jorge.

The other Skirmisher ran out, clutching a needler. It fired, but Noble Six was already turning the Warthog to block the needles and give Jorge a better angle. DMR rounds struck the alien, and then Jorge yelled, "It's payback time!" as he finished the Skirmisher off.

"What's next?" Carter asked Six.

"Them, sir," Six replied, pointing at another group of Grunts and Skirmishers down at the bottom of the track, and Six aimed for the thickest cluster and barrelled through two of the aliens, barely missing another group of moa. Carter fired twice, dropping a Skirmisher that had dodged the attack, but the remaining Grunts escaped across the stream.

Six could see another farm across the stream, and Six steered the Spade over the bridge to the farm. An Elite Major was directing a force of Grunts, and they all opened fire on the Spade. Carter and Jorge immediately concentrated on the Elite, but two of the Grunts had the presence of mind to throw plasma grenades.

Six reversed frantically, avoiding the plasma grenades. He waited for the explosives to detonate, and drove forwards, two Grunts fell to fire before the Elite's shields failed, and Carter fired a single DMR round to finish the Elite off. A Grunt screamed, pulling out two plasma grenades and priming them, but before he could complete his suicidal run, he fell to a shot from Carter, and the grenades detonated.

Six steered the Spade back onto the bridge, and Carter fired twice, killing that last Grunt.

_"Noble Leader, I'm picking up a distress signal,"_ Jun called. He played the signal over the radio.

_"Mayday! three-Charlie-six, does anyone read? We were attacked by Covenant forces. The Covenant is on Reach. I repeat: the Covenant is on Reach."_

"The troopers?" Jorge asked.

"Let's move, Six," Carter called. "We've gotta find the source of that distress call."

_"No disrespect, but don't we have more important things to do than round up strays?"_ Jun asked sceptically as the Spade drove over the bridge and up the hill.

"We don't leave people behind," Carter reprimanded the sniper. "You see those troopers, you let me know." He promptly opened fire on two Skirmishers, killing one and slowing down the other as it fled. Jorge blasted it with turret fire, splattering purple blood on the ground.

_"Noble Leader, I'm seeing possible friendly forces under attack south of your position, over!"_ Jun called.

_"We're under attack, repeat, mayday, mayday, three-Charlie-six, we're under attack by the Covenant, I've got wounded, cannot hold this position,"_ cried the trooper.

"We need to find those troopers _now," Carter said. Then he looked up and cursed. "Spirit inbound!" he yelled as the U-shaped dropship descended. _

They reached a farm, but then heard weapons fire and swerved to the left of the building. They could see three Army Troopers, two armed with assault rifles and a corporal armed with a DMR, doing their damndest to hold off the Covenant forces that the Spirit was dropping off.

They were quite surprised when the Spade rocketed past them and three Spartans leapt out of the truck and they opened fire on the Grunts. The Ultra that led them went down quickly as moa screamed and fled from the area.

"Noble Three, we've located the trooper squad," Carter told Jun. "Request immediate evac. My coordinates."

_"__Solid copy, Commander," _Jun replied._"Recalling Falcon Charlie 2. Hold that evac position."_

The troopers all poured on the fire, killing the next most dangerous Grunt, a Heavy. With the death of both high-ranking Grunts, the other broke ranks and fled, and the Troopers gunned them down. Six pursed a final one and shot it in the face, then regrouped with the Troopers and the other Spartans.

_"Noble Leader, be advised: I have visual on inbound Covenant dropships,"_ Jun called.

"Evac transport, keep your distance!" Carter ordered. "Six, hold this position. Clear an LZ."

The clean-faced Corporal was covering the area nervously with his DMR. "Spartans?" he asked, before clearing his voice. "Corporal Travis, three-Charlie, sir. It's the Covenant..."

"We know, Corporal. Let's get you out of here," Carter reassured him.

The Spirit was almost on them, so they saved the small talk. Six grabbed a spare DMR, discarding his pistol, as well as a few grenades. The Covenant leapt out of the Spirit's bay doors, and this Spirit provided covering fire from its plasma mortar that was mounted on its underside. Grunts swarmed towards the Troopers, and Six threw a grenade that exploded and killed one, but only wounded another. He switched to his assault rifle and focused on the Elite, draining its shields with Carter's aid and then finishing it off with a bullet to the head.

"Enemy reinforcements inbound!" Carter yelled.

Another Spirit dropped a group of Grunt Ultras off with several lesser ranked Grunts and an Elite Major wielding a needle rifle.

"Pour it on!" Cater ordered, shooting down a Grunt Minor.

Noble Six took out a few Grunts as he dodged the Spirit's fire. The dropship lifted off, but the Elite seemed to have gotten it into his head that Six was the priority target, and he barked at the Grunts, directing them to fire relentlessly at Six. His shields dropped, and a needle embedded itself in his armour. Six yanked the shard out before it could explode, firing at the Grunts. He ducked aside from the needles that the Elite was firing – forget the supercombine, one of them between the eyes and he'd be dead. He shot down a Grunt Ultra, saw a second go down from Travis's DMR fire, and backed away from the Elite, switching to his assault rifle and laying down heavy fire. The bullets nearly breached its shield, but Six had to retreat away from it.

Jorge advanced forwards, his turret fire keeping the Elite's shields from recharging. Carter took out a Grunt and then aided them, and just as Six reloaded and leapt out of cover, the Elite's shields faded, and a combination of Vulcan and 7.62mm bullets finished the Elite off.

Carter spotted a Grunt running full tilt with twin plasma grenades and he fired twice, the first bullet slowing it down and the second killing it. The grenades detonated the tossed the Grunt's blackened corpse into the air.

After seeing that, Six and Jorge cautiously hunted down the rest of the Grunts and killed them from a distance lest they follow the example of their fellow.

"Transport, LZ is clear. Move in for evac," Carter ordered

_"Affirmative. Transport inbound,"_ Jun replied.

Almost immediately, the two Falcons landed in the yard.

"Troopers, on the bird on the double!" Carter called. "Pilot, stay close, watch for hostile air!" He and Jorge boarded the Falcon with Jun, and Noble Six joined them, sitting in the middle beside the sniper, and both Falcons took off, the one carrying the Troopers getting them back to base, while Noble Team's headed for the relay outpost..

"Noble Two, sit-rep," Carter said over the radio.

_"We're at the relay outpost,"_ Kat replied._"Door's locked. Mechanism's been flash-fused."_

"Can you beat it?" Carter asked as the Falcon swept past the cliff-highway.

_"I dialed up my torch, cut a way through,"_ Kat explained._"Going to take some time,"_ she admitted.

"Okay, we're en route to your location," Carter replied.

Soon enough, Six's motion tracker picked up the other two Spartans, but there was a large red dot on top of them. They could see the com outpost, and there were plasma flashes in the yard below.

_"We're approaching the comm outpost,"_ the pilot informed them.

"Drop us in the courtyard," Carter ordered.

_"LZ's a little hot, sir-"_ the pilot protested.

Carter cut him off. "Put her down, pilot. Six, break's over."

The Falcon settled down in the yard, and Carter, Jorge and Six leapt out. As soon as they were out, the Falcon lifted off with Jun. A Grunt panicked and overcharged its plasma pistol into a nearby truck, causing green-blue energy to erupt over it, stunning the vehicle.

The Covenant soldiers were caught completely off guard by the ambush. The Grunts panicked, but five aliens that looked like Skirmishers, only more reptilian, weaker, and carrying hand-held energy shields, held their ground and opened fire on the newcomers with their plasma pistols.

Six lined up the Jackals, shooting a red-shielded Major in the hand and causing him to flinch backwards. He put another DMR round through its skull, as a Grunt fell under turret fire. Two Jackal Majors and a Grunt Minor got too close to Carter, and he swung his rifle in a wide arc that knocked all of the aliens backwards and killed them.

Six shot a Grunt in the head, bashed a blue-shielded Jackal Minor in the back and broke his spine, and as his shields burst, he pursued the final Jackal, bashing in its shield and then its skull. He turned and fired at a lone Grunt, killing it after a few shots.

"How we doing, Kat?" Carter asked the tech expert as he slotted himself inside the open room to cover her.

"Taking a little longer than I hoped, Commander," Kat admitted as she worked her tools under the green panels in front of her. "I've cut about halfway through the door."

"Contact!" Emile yelled, picking up a reading on his motion tracker. Six rushed in, grabbing more DMR ammo for himself and Carter.

Carter accepted the clips with a grateful nod. "Hold them off until Kat can hack the controls," he ordered the other Spartans.

"Spirit inbound!" Jorge yelled from outside.

Emile, Carter, and Noble Six charged out to join him as the dropship settled, dropping off a clutch of Grunts and an Elite Major. The Elite charged inside the garage, and Carter and Six looped around to the right, while Jorge bore the brunt of the Spirit's defensive fire. Emile crept around to the left.

Six tracked the Elite, throwing a grenade. The explosive bounced past the Major and up the stairs, detonating harmlessly. Six charged forwards, pouring on the fire, and then backing away to give Carter an angle on the Elite. The aliens shields faded, and Carter fired, but missed, and he turned his attention to the Grunts. Two shots knocked one down, and Six took out another before the Elite re-entered. Six fired the DMR, and the Elite collapsed with a deep moan.

Another Spirit had arrived, dropping off Grunts, Jackals, Skirmishers carrying needle rifles, and another Elite Major. Jorge had to engage his armour lock to survive, before disengaging it and deftly sidestepping the Spirit's fire.

Six and Carter engaged the Jackals and Grunts that came through into the garage, but the cluster of shields made it hard to kill them. They took out two Grunts and a Jackal Minor but the Spartans were eventually driven back. Jorge engaged armour lock again as a plasma grenade adhered to him, and he roared in pain as he was struck by continuous fire. Six did his best to keep the Covenant off him, but another Spirit-load of Covenant arrived, including an Elite Minor and more Skirmisher marksmen, who proceeded to leap up onto the roof to take pot-shots at the Spartans.

"Kat?" Carter asked, trying to remain calm.

"Just about...there!" Kat yelled, waving at Carter. "We're in!"

"Everybody inside! Go, go, go!" Carter yelled.

Noble Team withdrew to the relay's entrance as the door began to close. Banshees were incoming now, bombing the yard in an attempt to kill the Spartans. Jorge and Six were trapped under fire, and they barely made it inside. Unfortunately, Six had pissed off the Elite Major, and he ran inside with a roar and kicked Six to the ground.

Six fell, banging his head, and he kicked out sharply, hitting the alien's side. Emile whacked it in the back and cracked its spine, and the Elite collapsed on Six as the door finally closed.

"Yeah! All clear!" Emile called.

Six approached a dead trooper sadly and checked for a pulse, then collected his dog tags.

Carter picked up the trooper's assault rifle and slung his DMR over his shoulder. He gave everyone a while to rest before briefing them. "We need to find the control room. From there, Kat can get the relay back online." He turned towards Emile. "Emile, post here. If we flush any hostiles, they're yours. All right, let's do this."

Six approached the door, drawing out his assault rifle, and it opened into a pitch-black room that even the Spartan's enhanced eyes couldn't perceive.

"Can't see a thing," Carter muttered. "Noble Six, turn on your night vision."

Six flipped a switch on his helmet, plunging the area into sharp, green-tinged light, and he spotted a medpack on the wall. He cracked it open, and slotted it into his armour, feeling the cooling sting of biofoam spread through his system. He handed the rest to Jorge, who took it gratefully: the pounding that he'd taken outside hadn't been good for him.

"Control room. Go easy," Kat said.

Six turned a corner with Kat and saw two things; a control terminal, blackened from damage, and a human body, a civilian, grey-haired and lying in a pool of blood.

"Noble Six, search that body," Kat ordered.

Six knelt down and he began to search the body as Kat stepped over it.

Off to the side, Carter had found an injured Trooper, and Six looked over. The man didn't look like he could walk, let alone fight.

"Where's the rest of your unit?" Carter asked as he examined the Trooper's injury.

"We got split," the Corporal gasped, clutching his leg. "I don't think they... It sounded bad on the comms."

"All right, Corporal, stay put," Carter told him gently. "We'll get you a combat surgeon."

Noble Six turned the body over and a data module fell out of the man's jacket. He caught it before it could hit the pools of blood.

"Damn," Kat muttered. "Plasma damage!" she called to Carter, examining the controls.

"Found something," Six said, holding up the data module.

Kat swiftly turned and casually snatched the data module from Six's hand. "I'll take that, Six. Not your domain," she explained.

"I got a live one over here..." Jorge called. The Spartans turned to see Jorge pulling a young woman out of her hiding place, but she didn't look happy to see the Spartan, hitting him in a futile attempt to get away.

"Come on, out you come," Jorge said.

The woman scowled, yelling at him in Hungarian.

"It's all right, we're not going to hurt you," Jorge reassured her, but the woman wasn't reassured, and she continued to try and break Jorge's grip and yell.

"Jorge..." Carter said, walking up.

"I've got her," Jorge replied. The Spartan-II put down his turret and grabbed the woman by the arms. "Keep still, and I'll release you," he warned her.

"Még...Itt vannak," the woman gasped.

Jorge stiffened, and before Carter could ask him why or what the woman had said, a powerful Elite Field Marshal jumped down from the ceiling, carrying an ignited energy blade. The Field Marshal, garbed in elaborate maroon armour, swung at the Spartan, and Jorge ducked and dove to the ground, barely avoiding the Elite's energy sword while covering the girl.

The Field Marshal growled a challenge at the rest of Noble Team and charged, while two more Zealots, clad in similar armour to his, jumped down.

Emile radioed in, having heard the commotion. _"What's your status, over?"_ he asked.

"We've been engaged!" Carter bellowed as he opened fire.

The Marshal strode forwards as Carter and Six's bullet's crashed into its energy shields. It swung its sword and it nearly cut down Kat, had Carter not pushed her out of the way.

Noble Six had maintained constant fire during this, and the Elite's shield finally collapsed. Swinging around, the Field Marshal knocked Noble Six down as he ran out the door.

"Bad guy coming out!" Carter warned Emile.

Another Zealot grabbed Noble Six by the neck and extended an energy dagger from his right wrist, plunging it towards the Spartan's chest, but Six grabbed his dagger arm and then quickly punched the alien in the face, stunning him momentarily.

The Elite, unfazed, roared at Six, and prepared to stab him again.

Carter kicked the Elite off Six, and the alien backed across the floor as Kat opened fire, draining the Zealot's shields with well-placed shots.

Carter then kicked an assault rifle to Six, who dived for the weapon.

Meanwhile, the two Zealots headed for another door, one holding the shouting Corporal as a shield. Noble Team held their fire and the civilian girl began screaming while the Zealots headed through the door, and the Corporal screamed as he tried to hang onto the door frame, and a final cry wrenched the Spartan's hearts as he was dealt with, his hands slipping out of sight.

_"That tango blew past me. Permission to pursue?"_ Emile asked.

"Negative Four, stay on the entrance," Carter replied. If the Field Marshal had gotten out, it meant that the Covenant might be able to get in. "Two, handle her," he ordered, pointing at the screaming girl. "Five and Six, clear the hole."

Noble Six reloaded the assault rifle, and then he headed into the room with Jorge. Jorge wasn't about to let the Zealots slip past them again, and he sealed the door shut behind them with a massive heave.

Jorge threw a flare to the other side of the room, in an attempt to draw out hiding Covenant.

One of the Zealots emerged from behind a crate, firing his concussion rifle at Jorge and Six, while Grunts and Jackals fire their weapons at Jorge, coming out from behind a turn.

Six targeted the Zealot with the DMR, firing at his head. The Elite dodged down behind a wall, throwing a plasma grenade. Jorge dodged it with a roar, firing at a Grunt and killing it. Six fired again at the Zealot, almost draining the Elite's shields, but concussion blasts and the Elite taking cover foiled him again.

After only just dodging a Grunt's plasma grenade, Jorge marched into the maze of crates, catching the Covenant off-guard. He killed two Jackals and two Grunts, and the Zealot emerged from hiding again, and then he blanched at the sight of the massive Spartan-II. Six and Jorge took advantage of that surprise; though the Zealot recovered quickly and fired at Jorge, the real danger was from the enemy that he couldn't reach, and after Jorge's turret fire took down the Zealot's shields, Six fired two shots, killing him. _One down,_ he thought.

They moved forwards, and as a Jackal Major crept out of the corridor, Jorge kept him off balance by aiming at his shield, giving Six time to manoeuvre and shot the Jackal in the head. He threw a fragmentation grenade down the corridor, killing a Grunt, and giving Jorge time to harass the Covenant.

Six primed and threw a plasma grenade, catching a Grunt's leg. The patriotic Covenant dived away from his fellows as the grenade exploded and killed him. Jorge and Six opened up in earnest as the Grunts flinched, leaving a lone Jackal Minor. Six shot his hand, skimming the claw and exposing the Jackal, but his next shot missed and the Jackal covered himself with his shield again. Six fired again, and this time, he was able to get the bullet to hit the Jackal in the side, fatally wounding him.

As the Spartans advanced down the corridor, more Grunts and a Jackal Minor rounded the corner. Both Spartans opened fire, and two Grunts dropped dead quickly. Protected by his shield, the Jackal overcharged his plasma pistol and blasted a green globe of energy at Jorge, draining his energy shields. Jorge responded by pumping bullets into the Jackal, knocking it off balance. Six ran forwards, firing as he went, and the Jackal and a Grunt fell in splashes of alien blood.

Turning the corner, Six killed two more Grunts before reloading. Then they headed down to an open room, and Jorge pointed out the surviving Zealot in a small room with several black-armoured SpecOps Grunts. "There's more. Flush 'em out, I've got you covered," he reassured Six.

The four Grunts waddled out of the room, and Noble Six reloaded the DMR as he headed down to meet them, passing the Corporal's corpse. He could hear Jorge's turret firing and he reached the bottom and shot one of the Grunts through the head, and then another. He threw a plasma grenade, hoping to catch the other Grunts, but the explosive missed.

Six advanced after the grenade had detonated, and he fired three times, eventually hitting a third Grunt between the eyes. The power cells in the center of the room rose and fell, providing some strange cover for both Spartan and Covenant, but eventually, Six got a shot off that killed the last SpecOps Grunt.

The Zealot charged out of the room with an energy blade ignited, and Noble Six threw a frag grenade. The Zealot rolled aside to evade the grenade and Six and Jorge opened up, draining his shields as the Elite crossed the room. Six had wisely retreated away out of the Elite's reach, and the Elite turned and fled back to its hiding place. As Six pursued it, Jorge shot at it through the door of the little room, keeping its shields down. Six caught up with the Elite and fired two shots, and that and the turret fire finally killed the Elite.

"Noble Five reporting," Jorge told Carter. "Contacts neutralized."

_"Kat needs you to reset a junction,"_ Carter explained._"Do it and get back up here."_

Noble Six headed into the room. Three civilian corpses accompanied the Zealot's, and blood painted the floor. He kicked the Zealot's corpse and then hit the switch to reset the junction.

* * *

><p>Kat wrenched the cover off the console and she began to inspect the damage.<p>

"How long?" Carter asked.

"Question of my life," Kat replied bitterly as she straightened a recording camera. "If the question is when will this station be back online, two weeks, earliest. This is plasma damage," she explained as Carter leaned in to inspect the mess. "All major uplink components are fried."

"Two minutes is too long," Carter told her.

"Which is why I'm splicing into the main overland bundle to get you a direct line to Colonel Holland..." Kat replied. She let him stand there for a few more minutes before harshly telling him, "...you're in my light, Commander."

Carter backed away in surprise, and he turned to Jorge. "Find out what she knows," he said, gesturing to the civilian girl that was sitting by the wall.

Jorge nodded, and he knelt down and tapped the civilian girl's shoulder, but she shoved his hand off.

Over with Six and Kat, Emile chuckled.

"What's your name?" Jorge asked. "...Do you live around here?" When she didn't respond, Jorge took his helmet off, so that the girl could see that he was human and not some robotic monster. "A nevem Jorge," he said in Hungarian. _My name's Jorge._

"Sára..." the girl replied.

"Sára...szép határozott név," Jorge observed _...pretty definite name. _"Your accent sounds familiar," he observed, trying to make small talk. "Sopron?"

"Tengeri," Sára replied, still without gracing Jorge by looking back at him.

Jorge frowned to himself, and he looked at the body that was still lying there. "Friend of yours?" he asked.

Sára's hands tightened. "Father," she said.

Jorge bowed his head sincerely. "Sajnálom. I'm sorry," he said.

Sára looked up at the bulky Spartan-II angrily. "Why would you be?" she asked bitterly.

Emile spotted Noble Six looking at the two Reach natives, and explained, "Big man forgets what he is sometimes."

"She just lost her father," Jorge snarled coldly at Emile. He walked over to Carter, carrying his helmet. "She needs a full psychiatric workup," he explained.

"She's not the only one," Emile commented.

"Lock it down, both of you!" Carter ordered the two Spartans as Jorge shot Emile a scathing look. "Get her on her feet..." he told Jorge. "...the body stays here."

"Thank you, sir," Jorge replied gratefully. Turning around, he nudged Emile and glared at him, then he bent down and offered his hand to Sára. She took it, and he helped her to her feet.

As Jun, who'd joined them through the ruined front entrance, headed out, Kat called, "Signal. It's patchy, but it's there."

"I'll take it," Carter replied, removing his helmet.

"Best not touch anything," Kat warned him as Jorge, Sára, and Emile left the room. "You wouldn't want to ground this place."

She sauntered out with Noble Six, and Carter shook his head. She's still pretty torn up about Thom, he mused as he walked over to the screen.

Colonel Holland's voice crackled over the radio. _"... I'm barely getting you. What's your situation, over?"_

"Colonel, this is Noble One," Carter told him. "There are no rebels. The Covenant are on Reach. Acknowledge?"

_"Come again, Noble One? Did you say ?"_ Holland asked.

"Affirmative. It's the WINTER CONTINGENCY," Carter replied.

Holland didn't even hesitate before replying, _"May God help us all."_

**Good lord that was a long slog!**

**I ended up playing through the level twice, and even then I couldn't memorize all the details, so I recorded the film (since I only died twice) and watched that. That was massive fun, even though I got pretty hacked off at having to rewrite the cutscenes. **

**The next level might not be up for a while, but it should be before Christmas. Now I need to take a break, and hope that you all enjoy this. **

**Sanokal.**


End file.
